32 The guilt and self-reproach he was feeling prevented him from seeing her again

"I see, is that why you're here? how is your grandfather now?" Yeri asked.

"Well, he's scheduled for an open-heart surgery next week but then we heard that Doctor Neri is back, so I'm on my way to talk to him about doing the operation instead."

Yeri nodded, "Of course, you can be at ease if it's Doctor Neri. By the way, don't just say I looked healthier, aren't I prettier now?"

"You are always very pretty, nothing has changed." Xian Song let out a hearty smile and notice the cake she's holding. "Are you here to visit someone?"

"Nope, I got hospitalized for a cold and my attending physician is Doctor Neri, then my mom asked me to give this cake to him as a courtesy. It's nothing special, just one of our cafe's best selling sweets."

Xian Song gently felt her forehead. "You still get sick often?"

"I can assure you this will be the last!" Yeri giggled and shyly asked. "Uhm, actually, Teacher Song, if you don't mind, can I impose on you to give this cake to Doctor Neri on my behalf?"

"Sure! I don't mind at all." Xian reached out to tucked strands of her hair behind her ear surprising Yeri, was he always like this before?

Nevertheless, it's not like she dislikes it, they used to be close that she can even joke about his pretty face, if not for his tall height and lean-muscular built, he could be her rival in appearance.

"Thank you Teacher Song." Yeri handed him the box of cake.

"I'm no longer a teacher so you don't have to call me that, rather, I prefer it if you call me Xian or brother Xian."

"what? but why?" Yeri looked surprised, she still remembered how he was so earnest and sincere in his profession.

"It's a long story but let's just say I decided to follow my father's path." Xian briefly answered.

Yeri simply smiled, sensing it's not something she should probe into. "Then I have to go, my mom is waiting for me. It's nice meeting you again, brother Xian."

"How about we catch up some other time? maybe over dinner or whenever you're free?" Xian suggested.

Yeri agreed, the two of them chatted for a couple more minutes and exchanged contact numbers before leaving.

Xian watched her walk away, mulling over something till he decided to say it. "Yeri Zhi! by any chance...I mean, even if you have a boyfriend, don't forget to always prioritise your studies."

Yeri thumbs up and gave him a cutie wink before turning to a corner.

Xian had a conflicted expression, he was hoping to hear her say that she doesn't have a boyfriend but what for?

It's not like he can properly pursue her now, the current path he decided to take is a dirty business and full of atrocities.

He can't drag her to a corrupt political world when she had suffered enough after her brother's scandal flared up 3 years ago.

At that time, he was travelling the northern continent and avoided any news related to Sin City, determined to forget his foolish feelings towards her.

When he learned about it, a year has already passed, the guilt and self-reproach he was feeling prevented him from seeing her again till now, by coincidence.

Moreover, the Song household intends to regain its foothold back in this capital, Sin City but that also means engaging with their greatest adversary- the Keirs.

Once, the Keir and Song family were on par in terms of power and influence, however, the decades of enmity and the power struggle between the two families were irreparable that a moment of poor judgement and internal conflict in the Songs pave a path for the Keirs to strike.

Xian Song is the youngest and second young master of the Song family, he hated politics and pursued teaching, rebelling against his father's will.

However, the Song family's gradual decline in political and military power over the years drove them out of Sin City in fear of the Keirs.

Currently, his father is determined to take back what they have lost including their previous business partners, which, Shin Keir ruthlessly usurped.

Therefore, he can't have any weaknesses at present, she won't be safe with his family especially with Shin Keir, who is constantly keeping an eye on them.

Xian carried on with his appointment with Zahn Neri that day, and give him the box of cake.

Zahn Neri oddly eyed the box of cake that Xian placed on his desk. "You know Yeri Zhi?"

"She was my student when I was a middle school trainee teacher," Xian replied.

'What a small world.' Zahn thought not dwelling much on it.

-----

Yeri hummed a song as she got out of the elevator, is Shin her lucky charm? getting entangled with him gave her a chance to get close to big shots like Tristan Felan and Doctor Neri.

Somehow she felt strangely accomplished, and now it's her handsome teacher.

Yeri subtly smiled, looking forward to their next meeting, it suddenly crossed her mind about the 4 great nobles that Nina once told her.

Isn't her teacher's surname Song? there aren't many with the same surname in the country.

What if her teacher is from the noble Song family?

Yeri shook her head, that shouldn't be possible, it's not like she's looking down on him but why would a man swimming in money take a very challenging career?

"What were you thinking introducing Shin Keir to Uncle?!"

Yeri almost screamed feeling someone grabbed her by the shoulder. "Jj! are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"Explain yourself! what's going on? you were crazy trying to escape from him just a few days ago and now he's meeting your parents?" Jj sounded aggrieved.

"Can you please lower your voice first?" Yeri looked around and briefly explained what happened.

"Are you sure he didn't hurt you? or threaten you in any way?"

Yeri hugged Jj's arm. "Yup I'm pretty sure, plus isn't there a saying, if you can't beat them, join them? therefore, I decided to dip my hands into Shin Keir's pocket."

Jj exhaustedly glared at her. "Haven't you learned your lesson? Yeri, Shin Keir is not someone you can play around with!"

"Shhh, Mommy is here, let's talk later." Yeri patted Jj's arm.

Jj rubbed his temple, feeling a splitting headache.